IRS Employee Suspended for Urging Taxpayers to Reelect President Obama

Post Date: 7/22/2014

Last Updated: 7/22/2014

Summary

Cross References
- U.S. Office of Special Counsel News Release, July 10, 2014

The U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) has announced that an IRS employee has
agreed to a 100-day unpaid suspension for violation of the Hatch Act, which prohibits
federal employees from running as candidates in partisan elections and from soliciting
contributions and promoting candidates for political office while on duty and in the federal
workplace. OSC is authorized to investigate allegations of Hatch Act violations, and
if possible resolve the matter informally before filing a formal complaint before the Merit
Systems Protection Board.

The complaint against the IRS employee alleged that when fielding taxpayers’ questions
on an IRS customer service help line, the employee repeatedly urged taxpayers to reelect
President Obama in 2012 by delivering a chant based on the spelling of the employee’s
last name. In the settlement agreement resolving the complaint, the IRS employee acknowledged
that he had used his authority and influence as an IRS customer service
representative for a political purpose and did so while at work.

In another OSC complaint, a U.S. Postal Service (USPS) employee was investigated for
running for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives while employed as a USPS worker.
OSC and USPS repeatedly warned the worker that his actions violated the Hatch Act
and requested that he comply with the law either by withdrawing from the elections or
ending his federal employment. Despite these repeated warnings, the employee refused
to comply with the law. As a result, his employment with USPS has been terminated.